2018 Clinician Spotlights

Patrick K. Freer is Professor of Music at Georgia State University. He has guest conducted or presented in 39 states and 21 countries. He has authored books, DVDs, and over 120 articles in most of the field’s leading national and international journals. He is past Editor of Music Educators Journal and current Associate Editor of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing. Dr. Freer regularly conducts honor choirs across the USA and internationally. He’s a recent inductee of the Westminster Choir College Music Education Hall of Fame.

Dr. Leigh Ann Garner teaches elementary classroom and choral music at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Hastings, MN. In addition, she is the Director of the Kodály Institute at the University of St. Thomas, where she teaches pedagogy courses Levels I and II, Folksong Analysis and Materials, and Kodály Master Class. Garner also taught on the Kodály faculty at Wichita State University. She teaches interactive workshops throughout the United States specializing in early childhood music, Kodály-inspired pedagogy, curriculum development, standards-based assessments, and undergraduate music pedagogy. Garner is the co-author of Music and Movement: a music curriculum for children ages one-five. Her newest publication, Cultivating Creative Musicians is a resource designed for elementary music teachers. In addition, she is a contributing author for MacMillan McGraw/Hill music textbook series. Garner holds an EdD from the University of St. Thomas, an MA in Music Education from the University of St. Thomas, and a BA in Vocal Music Education from St. Olaf College.

Tim Lautzenheiser began his teaching career at Northern Michigan University. He then moved to the University of Missouri, and from there to New Mexico State University. During that time, Tim developed highly acclaimed groups in both instrumental and vocal music. Following his tenure in the college band directing world, he spent three years with McCormick’s Enterprises working as Executive Director of Bands of America. In 1981, Tim created Attitude Concepts for Today, Inc., an organization designed to manage the many requests for teacher inservice workshops, student leadership seminars, and convention speaking engagements focusing on the area of effective leadership training. After thirty-plus years of clinic presentations, some three million students have experienced one of his popular sessions. Tim presently serves as Vice President of Education for Conn-Selmer, Inc. He is a nationally recognized voice touting the importance of arts education for every child. His books, produced by G.I.A. Publications, Inc., continue to be bestsellers in the educational community. He is also co-author of popular band method, Essential Elements, as well as the Senior Educational Consultant for Hal Leonard, Inc. Tim is also the Senior Educational Advisor for Music for All, and NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants). He holds degrees from Ball State University and the University of Alabama; in 1995 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the VanderCook College of Music. He continues to teach as an adjunct faculty member at: Ball State University, Indiana-Purdue/Ft. Wayne University, and Butler University. In addition, he is a member of the Midwest Clinic Board of Directors and the Western International Band Clinic/American Band College Board of Directors. He is presently the Chair of the National Association for Music Education Music Honor Society (Tri-M).

Larry Livingston has appeared with the Houston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series, at the Festival de Musique in France, with the Stockholm Wind Orchestra, the Leopoldinum Orchestra in Poland, the Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra in Rumania, and the Pan Pacific Festival Orchestras in Sydney. The lead jurist for the Besancon International Conducting Competition in France and the Winnipeg Symphony International Conducting Symposium, Maestro Livingston is also the Music Director of the Festival Orchestra at Idyllwild Arts. Since 2004, Mr. Livingston has served as guest conductor at the College Band Directors National Conference in Alice Tully Hall, led All-State Ensembles across the United States including Texas, where he appeared for a record ninth time. From 2004 to 2012 Mr. Livingston was Music Director of Thornton School Orchestras. In 2012-17, Maestro Livingston will conduct the All-State Ensembles of Arizona, New Mexico, Kentucky, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, and California, as well as the Katowice Academy Orchestra in Poland. Mr. Livingston has held positions as Vice President of the New England Conservatory of Music, Dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, where he Chairs the Conducting Department. Mr. Livingston leads the national educational quest, ALL IN, is a faculty clinician for the Conn-Selmer Corporation, and heads the Education Committee of the Quincy Jones Musiq Consortium. In 2013, Mr. Livingston appeared in the “Lights Out” episode of Glee and was featured as a mentor in the USA Cable Network Television series, “The Moment.”

William Owens is a native of Gary, Indiana. His career as a music educator spans three decades and he is very active as a composer, clinician and conductor throughout the United States and Canada. His compositions for young ensembles display a practical, erudite approach which has firmly established him as a leader in the field. Since 1993, William has written over 200 commissioned and published works for concert band, string orchestra and small ensemble. His music has been performed at prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Midwest Clinic, and appears on required music lists nationally and abroad. Principal commissions include those from the California Band Directors Association, the Chicago Public School Bureau of Cultural Arts, the Iowa Bandmasters Association, the Indiana Bandmasters Association and the South Plains College (TX) Department of Fine Arts. Several of his compositions are recorded and analyzed in educational text by the GIA series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band while numerous others have become staples of the young band repertoire. William is a 1985 graduate of Chicago’s VanderCook College of Music and the recipient of numerous awards and grants for composition. In 2014, he was recognized by the Texas Bandmasters Association as the Feature Composer and named Distinguished Alumnus by his Alma Mater. Professional memberships include the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the American Composers Forum (ACF), Phi Beta Mu and the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA). In 2014, William retired from duty as a band director in Texas after 30 years of service. He is the Conductor Emeritus of the Mansfield (TX) Wind Symphony and currently serves as Deputy Editor with the FJH Music Company (FL). In his spare time, he enjoys sightseeing and reading, particularly motivational material and Presidential biography. A proud Chevrolet Corvette owner/enthusiast, he holds membership with Cowtown Vettes, a non-profit charitable organization in the DFW Metroplex. Owens resides in Fort Worth, TX with his wife and best friend, Georgia.

David Rayl is director of choral programs and associate dean for graduate studies and research at the Michigan State University College of Music. Over the past 15 years he has mentored and served as principal conducting teacher over 35 doctoral students and 60 master’s students. Under his baton, the University Chorale appeared at the National and Central ACDA conferences and the national meeting of the College Music Society. Rayl has received MSU’s University Distinguished Faculty Award and the Dortha J. and John D. Withrow Award for Excellence in Teaching.